| Joey Chestnut | |
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| Born | November 25 1983 Vallejo, California |
| Occupation | Professional Eater |
Joseph Christian "Jaws" Chestnut (born November 25, 1983) is a competitive eater from San Jose, California, currently ranked first in the world by the International Federation of Competitive Eating. On July 4, 2007, he won the 92nd Annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, beating six-time defending champion Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi by consuming 66 HDBs (hot dogs and buns) in 12 minutes, which set a new world record. On June 2, 2007, during the Southwest Regional qualifier for Nathan's contest at Arizona Mills Mall in Tempe, AZ, he set the previous world record by eating 59.5 HDBs (Video).
Eating history
The San José State University student entered the competitive eating scene in 2005 with a break-out performance in the deep-fried asparagus eating championship, in which he beat high-ranked eater Rich LeFevre by eating 6.3 pounds of asparagus in 11.5 minutes. That same year, during Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest, Chestnut downed 52 hot dogs and buns (HDBs), placing second behind Takeru Kobayashi. Chestnut continued to impress the public by beating Sonya Thomas in the Waffle House World Waffle Eating Championship and placing second to her in a Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship qualifier, downing 56 Krystal Burgers in eight minutes to her 57. He later beat her by eating 91 hamburgers in the Finals, a close second to the 97 hamburgers consumed by Kobayashi Chestnut qualified for the 2006 Nathan's Contest by eating 50 HDBs. As July 4 approached, there was speculation that 2006 might be the year when Kobayashi would be beaten. It was not to be, however. Although Chestnut turned in a great performance, leading Kobayashi through most of the contest, the final tally put Chestnut at 52 and Kobayashi at 53-3/4 (a new world record). In 2007, Chestnut won the Wing Bowl XV, another installment of the annual Philadelphia event at the Wachovia Center. In this competition, he ate 182 chicken wings in 30 minutes, a Wing Bowl record. Furthermore, he is currently one of the few to successfully complete the gallon of milk challenge (in 41 seconds). On July 4, 2007, Chestnut and Kobayashi battled the field in a record-setting hot dog eating battle in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, at Nathan's Contest. Chestnut knocked off Kobayashi 66-63, leading to the latter's first defeat in the contest in six years. The final moments were too close to call, and the judges were involved in the count. The 66 HDBs eaten are now both the Nathan's and the World Record. On October 28, 2007 between 2:33 and 2:41, Chestnut ate 103 Krystals in the Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship in Chattanooga Tennessee. This was Mr. Chestnut's personal best, and is the new world record.
World records held by Joey Chesnut
- Sandwiches: 59 peanut butter sandwiches in 10 minutes on june 19 2005
- Waffles: 18.5 waffles (8 oz.) in 10 minutes at Waffle House in Atlanta, GA, on September 4, 2005.
- Grilled Cheese Sandwiches: 47 sandwiches in 10 minutes at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV on June 10, 2006.
- Pork Ribs: 8.4 pounds pork rib meat in 12 minutes at Chinook Winds on July 16, 2006.
- Horseshoe Sandwiches: 6 pounds, 5 ounces of horseshoe sandwiches at the Illinois State Fair on August 12, 2006.
- Gyoza: 212 chicken and vegetable gyoza during Nisei Week in Little Tokyo in 10 minutes on August 19, 2006.
- Pulled Pork: 9 pounds, 6 ounces in 10 minutes in Council Bluffs, IA on September 16, 2006.
- Chicken Wings: 182 wings at Wing Bowl XV in Philadelphia, PA, on February 2, 2007.
- Asparagus: 8.6 pounds of tempura-fried asparagus at the Asparagus Festival in Stockton, CA, on April 28, 2007.
- Chili: 14 cups in 6 minutes at the Astrodome in Houston, TX on March 30, 2007.
- Chicken Wings: 7.05 pounds of wings in 12 minutes in New York City on May 21, 2007.
- Hot Dogs: 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY on July 4, 2007.
- Hamburgers: 103 Krystal Hamburgers in 8 minutes on October 28, 2007.
